Post navigation

The reputation justly built for the authors’ battlefield guides is such that anyone who has read any guide will immediately know that this is THE guide to buy for this particular battlefield. That this guide is now in its seventh edition speaks volumes for its accuracy and value. With each edition, the authors have further enhanced what was already a leading work in its field as a first edition. Some readers will already own several earlier editions, perhaps all of them. That again speaks volumes for the guide.

This is a guide that should be part of any enthusiasts library, an essential companion to family records and mementos, and an essential companion to any visit to the battlefield.

NAME: Major & Mrs Holt’s Definitive Battlefield Guide, D-Day Normandy Landing Beaches, Updatd Seventh Edition with GPS Locations
DATE: 020814
FILE: R2006
AUTHOR: Major & Mrs Holt
PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword
BINDING: soft back
PAGES: 352
PRICE: £16.99
GENRE: Fiction
SUBJECT: WWII, World War Two, Second World War, D-Day, Normandy Beaches, amphibious landings, airborne landings, logistics, terrain, bunkers, batteries, topography, planing, battlefields
ISBN: 1-84884-570-7
IMAGE: B2006.jpg
BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/lxb9flt
LINKS:
DESCRIPTION: The reputation justly built for the authors’ battlefield guides is such that anyone who has read any guide will immediately know that this is THE guide to buy for this particular battlefield. That this guide is now in its seventh edition speaks volumes for its accuracy and value. With each edition, the authors have further enhanced what was already a leading work in its field as a first edition. Some readers will already own several earlier editions, perhaps all of them. That again speaks volumes for the guide.

The purpose of this type of guide is not as simple as might appear at first glance. Obviously, the authors have distilled their exceptional knowledge of the battlefield and produced a guide that is sufficiently detailed that a reader who has never before visited the area could take just this book and follow its information and advice to experience a memorable visit. However, the guide also has an important place in any library of the genre and period as an information source that does not require a physical visit to the area. The authors have packed an enormous amount of information into a guide to the greatest amphibious assault in history. The descriptive writing sets out events and places in such detail, it is almost a video presentation. There are clear maps, photographs and captions spread through the body of the book and using full colour where available and appropriate. It is difficult to imagine any other author coming close to the achievement of this guide.

The authors have divided the battlefield into logical sections that make credible day visits and enable the reader to chose where to start. Each section has been updated and this edition includes GPS locations to take advantage of the personal GPS systems now in common use. Nothing has been overlooked and the guide covers all of the D-Day Beaches. It also covers the landing grounds used by British and American Airborne troops.

Two approaches to the area are defined and there are six timed and measured itineraries. The scope of the guide matches the events in depth, identifying all memorials and burial sites, in addition to the batteries, bunkers and landing fields. There is a well drawn historical background, together with information on War Graves Associations and the veterans and other commemorative associations.

This is a guide that should be part of any enthusiasts library, an essential companion to family records and mementos, and an essential companion to any visit to the battlefield.